Skip to main content
Advertise with the Morning Star
Coronavirus throws up major questions for the future of Scotland
Businesses will struggle, the economy will contract and a great many people will slip into poverty. So we urgently need to develop a new post-Brexit, post-Covid settlement, writes RICHARD LEONARD

THE coronavirus pandemic has brought to the fore a number of burning issues that have long been conveniently ignored by our political Establishment. 

Politicians who once praised the impact of zero-hours contracts have had to acknowledge the pitfalls of precarious work. 

So have those who waxed lyrical about the potential for labour market “flexicurity” in an independent Scotland.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
A bus under construction at the Alexander Dennis bus manufacturers in Falkirk
Voices of Scotland / 17 June 2025
17 June 2025

As bus builder Alexander Dennis threatens Falkirk closure and Grangemouth faces ruthless shutdown by tax exile Jim Ratcliffe, RICHARD LEONARD MSP warns that global corporations must be resisted by a bold industrial strategy based on public ownership

NOT THE PEASANTS’ REVOLT: Some well-heeled types make thei
Voices of Scotland / 3 December 2024
3 December 2024
The super-rich falsely claim inheritance tax changes will devastate small farmers, while millionaire landowners continue enjoying numerous tax advantages — why is the SNP supporting this nonsense, asks RICHARD LEONARD
SNP rosettes on show at the SEC, Glasgow, 2018
Voices of Scotland / 7 May 2024
7 May 2024
The 500 refinery jobs under threat at Grangemouth and underfunding in further education should be at the top of a new Scottish leader’s to-do list, argues RICHARD LEONARD MSP
NUM President Arthur Scargill (left) and NUM Scottish Presid
Features / 30 January 2024
30 January 2024
RICHARD LEONARD MSP looks at the life and ideals of the famous miners' leader and all-round champion of working-class politics
Similar stories
STUC General Secretary Roz Foyer speaks to lecturers and other university staff at a rally on Buchanan Street, Glasgow, September 19, 2023
Voices of Scotland / 8 July 2025
8 July 2025

Ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections, ROZ FOYER warns that a bold tax policy is needed to rebuild devastated public services which can serve as the foundation of a strong, fair economy

A bus under construction at the Alexander Dennis bus manufacturers in Falkirk
Voices of Scotland / 17 June 2025
17 June 2025

As bus builder Alexander Dennis threatens Falkirk closure and Grangemouth faces ruthless shutdown by tax exile Jim Ratcliffe, RICHARD LEONARD MSP warns that global corporations must be resisted by a bold industrial strategy based on public ownership

SOMETHING CHANGED: Nigel Farage, seen here chased through the streets of Edinburgh in 2013, now commands the support of some 10,000 Scots
Features / 29 April 2025
29 April 2025

COLL McCAIL rejects the Scottish Establishment’s attempt at an ‘elite lockout’ of Reform UK and says the unions should be wary of co-option by their class enemies in Holyrood just to keep one set of austerity-mongers in power instead of Reform UK

Features / 17 September 2024
17 September 2024
The independence referendum’s youthful energy has dissipated, leaving Holyrood disconnected from voters as the constitutional question fades and Labour gains ground from a stagnant SNP, writes COLL MCCAIL